Wednesday, October 31, 2007

The Legitimate New Enlgand Portion of the Trip...

For the second half of the week, we enjoyed beautiful Vermont. We spent the first evening at the Inn at Baldwin Creek - incredible. It came highly recommended, and we're passing along the recommendation. If you go, try the Autumn Lasagna and stay in the Tree House.


The Inn.


The view from our room.

We were also able to spend a few days with my cousin and her sweet family. They were such great hosts, and really went out of their way to show us all Vermont had to offer...


Middlebury, VT


The Allreds' Front Porch


Allison, Noah, Taylor, Ethan, Weston, Creepy Juggling Guy, Jen, Ben in Burlington, VT. I'm pretty sure when we were kids we used to smile in the background of people's pictures - so I should be fair and not call him creepy. Then again, we weren't 27.




I couldn't bring myself to crop this photo, because I loved the whole scene. But squint in close to the screen to see Westy TOTALLY getting into Fall. Love it.

Schenectady

The next stop on our trip was Schenectady, NY. Three points to anyone who can pronounce this town BEFORE being laughed at and corrected by the Canadian Border Patrol.


The church across the street from our B&B.


Union College campus.


This was the street we stayed on and I thought the town was so quaint... and then we actually drove around. I don't think we'll be relocating to Schenectady anytime soon.

The drive from New York to Vermont was unbelievable! It was literally like watching Fall happen. I couldn't believe how FAR we drove in the thick of trees after trees... it was like Sardine Canyon on steroids.







It was somewhere around this point of trip that I LOST my make-up. Blast. So prepare for Allison au naturale. Fortunately, we were in Vermont - and my no-makeupness didn't really set me a part from the crowd.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Blame Canada

To celebrate the Rileys turning one, we headed to beautiful New England and joined the leaf-peeper ranks. (I know what you're thinking, Canada is NOT New England. Gettin' there...). It was a great trip! This was really the reason I wanted a fall wedding - the fall anniversary.

Like most adventures, ours started on the airplane. Where the MOMENT we hit cruising altitude, the person in front of me on each flight would inevitably crank their seat back and leave it in its non-upright position for the duration of the flight. What is WITH me and my luck in this arena? The seat cranking was followed closely by the captain's announcement detailing in full the delicious breakfast being served on the other side of the first class curtain. Like it would have been so impossible to just tell the eight people within earshot?

We flew into Rochester, where Noah and I had our first conversation about getting around. It went a lot like this...

Me: So, you Mapquested the directions to the hotel?
Noah: No.
Me: For reals, you didn't?
Noah: Yeah.

Not a big deal, after an unsettled glance from the Enterprise guy, we eventually made it to Niagara Falls, where we had our first conversation about accommodations.

Me: So, where are we staying?
Noah: In Canada.
Me: For reals, we are?
Noah: Yeah.

And it's a GOOD THING. Canada is so much more hip than the United States. They have their side of the falls thing DOWN. We saw the Falls, got drenched on the Maid of the Mist (which, from Noah's priceless grin, you can tell he enjoyed immensely more than I), and met a sweet couple celebrating their 50th anniversary - they had honeymooned there and come back every year since. So sweet.




Also, to commemorate Noah's first visit to Canada, we took a picture with a "real" Canadian Mounty. Which I kept confusing with "bounty hunters." Tell me, what's not to confuse about the two?


Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Established 2006

That's right. Noah and I will no longer describe our marriage in terms of months. It's hard to believe it was a whole year ago that this was going on....



and this adorable guy was born...


**Not OURS.

and Elder Christopher Riley was headed out for the two-year gig...



and this house went from old to hole to frame to new...



ALL at the same time. What a crazy week! I think my coping mechanisms really kicked in in the form of amnesia - because a few months later, while we were bouncing around from one place to another over Christmas Break, I exclaimed to Noah, "Man, I can't imagine trying to have a wedding right now! Aren't you so glad we aren't trying to fit a wedding into this break?!" To which he replied, "Yeah. Totally. We picked a much better week." Touche.

Friday, October 12, 2007

Show Me a True-Blooded Aggie

It would appear Noah and I have not existed in October. Quite the contrary - but sorry for the lack of posting.

A few weeks ago, we headed up to the spot where the sagebrush grows to stand in the rain and watch the Aggies lose. Fortunately, the soggy slaughter was sandwiched between lunch with old ASUSU/Ambassador/SAA colleagues and dessert with the Thatchers. And we watched the game with our favorite SLC Aggies - the Millets (pictured below). So aside from the heartwrenching loss (they really had me believing for a while they might seal the deal) and the guy next to Noah who reeked of meat (not pictured below) it was a great time.



I also had one of those "weird, this isn't my scene anymore" moments... like when you walk through a high school for the first time after graduating. My adorable little sister is now on the SAA board, so she and her roomie came with Noah and me to the SAA tailgate before the game. As we walked through the parking lot holding our coats over our heads as makeshift umbrellas, I saw an old acquaintance of mine and Noah's. He waved, so naturally I waved back ... just as he stepped forward and threw his arm around Megan. It was sort of a jolt to realize I was now the observer, no longer the participant.

And another Aggie football game picture (better weather, longer hair, same score ... ) from last year.